Languages of Morocco - Berber

Berber

The exact population of Berber languages speakers is hard to ascertain, since most North African countries do not – traditionally – record language data in their censuses (An exception to this was the 2004 Morocco population census). The Ethnologue provides a useful academic starting point; however, its bibliographic references are inadequate, and it rates its own accuracy at only B-C for the area. Early colonial censuses may provide better documented figures for some countries; however, these are also very much out of date. The number for each dialect is difficult to estimate.

Berber serves as a vernacular language in many rural areas of Morocco. Berber, along with Moroccan Arabic, is one of two languages spoken in homes and on the street. The population does not use Berber in writing. Aleya Rouchdy, author of "Language Contact and Language Conflict in Arabic," said that Berber is mainly used in the contexts of family, friendship, and "street". In her 2000-2002 research, Ennaji found that 52% of the interviewees placed Berber as a language inferior to Arabic because it did not have a prestigious status and because its domain was restricted. Ennaji added that "he dialectisation of Berber certainly reduces its power of communication and its spread."

Speakers of Riffian dialect were estimated to be around 1.5 million in 1990. The language is spoken in the Rif area in the north of the country, and is the smallest Berber dialect in Morocco, by number of speakers.

The Tashelhit language is considered to be the most widely spoken as it covers the whole of the Region Souss-Massa-Drâa, and is also spoken in the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz and Tadla-Azilal regions. Studies done in 1990 show around 3 million people, concentrated in the south of Morocco, speak the dialect.

Central Morocco Tamazight is the second Berber language in Morocco. A 1998 study done by Ethnologue, shows that around 3 million people speak the language in Morocco. The language is most used in the regions Middle Atlas, High Atlas and east High Atlas Mountains.

Other Berber dialects are spoken in Morocco, as the Senhaja de Srair and the Ghomara dialects in the Rif mountains and the Figuig Shilha in Figuig (not to be confused with Atlas Shilha).